HURRICANE, Utah — Back in 2023, Hayle Thompson woke up to a nightmare. Her trailer caught fire, and she and her four boys were trapped inside.
“I scooped them all up and took them to the biggest window. I punched it with my fist, and luckily it broke, and I was able to get them all out before jumping out myself," Thompson said.
But in that moment, their road to recovery was just beginning.
“40% of my body was burned. I was in the hospital for a little over two months, and so me and me and two of my boys were life-flighted to a hospital," Thompson said. "I was moved to the burn unit, and then my other two were able to be treated in St. George.”
Overheated power strip started Riverdale home fire that killed 5 family members:
Luckily, each member of their family survived, but not all stories have happy endings. This Fire Prevention Week, Thompson is urging homeowners to take it seriously.
“I can't stress the importance of having an emergency plan with your family," Thompson said, "I've taught my boys since how to use a fire extinguisher, and it shouldn't have to get to the point where you're in that emergency situation for those things to become important to you; they should be important now.”
Fire officials are warning about a new culprit in a lot of house fires: lithium batteries.
“Up until this point, we were worried more about candles in homes than we are about batteries. With scooters, e-scooters, e-bikes, we would say don't charge in a walkway that leads out of your home," said Chris Trevino with the West Jordan Fire Department.
The Red Cross said even simple things like checking smoke detectors and practicing your emergency plan can save lives.
“Oftentimes when my team is rolling up, it's somebody's worst day of their life," said Benjamin Donner, "if we can prevent, if we can help prepare, it makes that response that we do easier for the families and individuals involved.”
"What we tell kids in grade school is to throw your [stuffed] animals out the window, so that firefighters, when they're walking around, they know that something is different," Trevino said, "firefighters are going to see that, and then say, 'Wait a minute, what's going on?' and then look up."
Thompson said she never learned the cause of her fire, but she encourages those who face this reality to lean on the community around you.
“There are certain things that still trip me up and trigger those memories and bring back a lot of that emotion and that pain," Thompson said, "It's hard, but it's possible, and you can make it through."
For more resources this Fire Prevention Week, you can visit:
https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies.html
https://www.redcross.org/local/utah/about-us/our-work/home-fire-campaign.html